Shirley Fenette (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lovereborn) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
warforged2014-04-12 05:26 pm
lovereborn) wrote in warforged2014-04-12 05:26 pm
[open] arrival
Who: Shirley Fenette and any Red Dragonsworn
What: A very confused, newly-undead young woman tries to make sense of what exactly's happened with her life.
Where: The Ruby Sanctum
When: Backdated to April 10th
Warnings: Spoilers for Code Geass, mentions of violence
Nothing really makes sense anymore.
She's heard the introductions. She's managed to make it out of the cave she woke up in. By this point, she's even managed to suppress the urge to run screaming every time she hears the powerful beat of wings nearby, or sees the impossible red beasts in the corner of her eye. But none of that changes how fundamentally wrong all of this is. Just forty-eight hours ago, her life had been so simple - what had she done to deserve any of this?
(She has a few ideas, of course. They're tentative, uncertain - she remembers doing awful things, yes, but she also remembers not doing them, and she remembers being told to forget about them but also remembering again and-)
And now she's sitting beneath a gorgeous tree, holding a sword she doesn't remember picking up and trying to ignore the feeling of dried blood coating her clothing. She's staring up at a sky that doesn't seem quite right, catching glimpses of humans and things that aren't quite human and outright dragons, and trying not to think too hard about the idea that her home - her world - is under attack.
She tightly clutches the handle of the sword she arrived with. She's never seen it, of course - just like everything else in this place - but it feels important. It feels almost familiar. More than anything, though, it feels heavy - heavy enough to merit taking a rest break under a tree in the first place.
Maybe she'll just sit here for a while longer. It's not like she's got anywhere else to be.
What: A very confused, newly-undead young woman tries to make sense of what exactly's happened with her life.
Where: The Ruby Sanctum
When: Backdated to April 10th
Warnings: Spoilers for Code Geass, mentions of violence
Nothing really makes sense anymore.
She's heard the introductions. She's managed to make it out of the cave she woke up in. By this point, she's even managed to suppress the urge to run screaming every time she hears the powerful beat of wings nearby, or sees the impossible red beasts in the corner of her eye. But none of that changes how fundamentally wrong all of this is. Just forty-eight hours ago, her life had been so simple - what had she done to deserve any of this?
(She has a few ideas, of course. They're tentative, uncertain - she remembers doing awful things, yes, but she also remembers not doing them, and she remembers being told to forget about them but also remembering again and-)
And now she's sitting beneath a gorgeous tree, holding a sword she doesn't remember picking up and trying to ignore the feeling of dried blood coating her clothing. She's staring up at a sky that doesn't seem quite right, catching glimpses of humans and things that aren't quite human and outright dragons, and trying not to think too hard about the idea that her home - her world - is under attack.
She tightly clutches the handle of the sword she arrived with. She's never seen it, of course - just like everything else in this place - but it feels important. It feels almost familiar. More than anything, though, it feels heavy - heavy enough to merit taking a rest break under a tree in the first place.
Maybe she'll just sit here for a while longer. It's not like she's got anywhere else to be.
no subject
Carolina knew trauma when she saw it. She'd fought the Insurrectionists and she'd fought the Covenant, and given the blood on the girl's clothes, she had little doubt shock had set in. Given how withdrawn into herself the child was (and there was no disputing that this was a child, a young girl, surely no older than Carolina had been when she'd enlisted right out of high school) the space marine doubted that Shirley had even noticed her approach.
At least Carolina was clearly human, even if her armor was ridiculously aqua blue (particularly for someone in the Redsworn - though not for lack of trying on the part of the armorers), and bulky beside. But she moved forwards with little effort in spite of it.
Expression closed off as she moved, eyeing the sword lying across the girl's lap -- as out of place with her as the girl looked with blood on her clothing -- she extended her hand to offer a waterskin.
"Here. It's safe to drink."
please ignore the icon, i'm fixing it as soon as i get back to a computer with photoshop
That's all she's got right now, but it's something. She forces herself to relax, shoulders dipping slightly as she nods. "Thanks." She's not thirsty at all, but she needs to drink something, right? Who knows how long it's been at this point...
She unplugs the waterskin and takes a swig, frowning slightly as she swallows. Something seems off about it - maybe she's just really not thirsty? She pushes it to the back of her mind, handing back the waterskin as she tries to think of something she can say.
"Um - you're not from here either, right?"
s'all good!
"No, I'm not." The waterskin doesn't feel any less empty when its handed back but the Freelancer doesn't say anything about that. For now. Instead, she frowns, before setting her mind on the task at hand. "You're a mess. Did someone heal you after getting here, or just leave you under the tree?" Mages.
Re: s'all good!
For the first time since she arrived, it occurs to her just how awful her condition should be. She reaches to her stomach, feeling around for a wound, and find nothing. Is she not remembering that right either? No, she had to have been hurt somehow - even if she can't remember exactly what happened, she knows that much. The state of her shirt says enough, right? So that means-
"...I think they healed me." The uncertainty in her voice is plenty evident - she's still having trouble figuring out exactly what happened before she showed up, and magic getting thrown into the mix certainly isn't any easier on the brain. "I- I mean, they had to have, you know? I'm still sitting here, and I don't feel hurt at all, even though-"
She cuts herself off at that, motioning wordlessly to her clothing. The blood says enough.
no subject
And probably had been, in this child's world. "You're in shock. That's to be expected." She crouched down, so that she was eyelevel with the girl, before extending a gloved hand towards her. "I'm Carolina. Agent with the UNSC. Like you, I'm from a different world. What's your name?"
no subject
"Shirley Fenette." She eyes Carolina's hand for a few moments, not distrustful so much as wary - it's been a long forty-eight hours, after all. But eventually she reaches forward, taking the offered hand and trying to smile (if still a bit dazedly.) "UNSC... is that a part of the military?"
no subject
Now that she's done looking her over, Carolina's lips press into a fine line, and she casts a displeased look over one shoulder. And others have just left her here? "There's an armory here, which can provide you with some clean clothes. You shouldn't stay in those." The blood stains aren't likely to be removeable any time soon. "There's a safe area to bathe as well."
sorry for the delay - tough week in grad life o7
She'll think about all this later. Right now, Carolina's right - getting out of what she's wearing is her first priority. "Thank you so much for this," she murmurs. She pulls gently at Carolina's hand, testing for balance before finally pulling herself into a standing position.
The sword she arrived with falls to the grass, and her vision snaps straight down to it as it does. It's weird, but - she feels like it's not quite right to just leave it there. It's protection, right? It's got to be better than nothing. And she woke up next to it, so maybe it's important... She lets go of Carolina's hand and squats down, firmly grabbing the handle and standing once again. She doesn't look particularly threatening with it - she couldn't even swing it, the way she's hanging on to it - but it still feels reassuring.
"Okay, um - where did you say I could find clothing, again? An armory?"
s'all good! Just had a brief hiatus m'self!
The weapon gets a frown, though, as the younger girl grasps the hilt and lifted it with obvious difficulty. She didn't complain, though - a point in her favour. "That sword's too big for you. Did the dragons select it?" Seriously. What were they even thinking? "You going to be okay carrying it?"
"Yes. They have some fancier things, but getting you some basic clean clothing and sturdy shoes for moving around here should help." Formerly fashionable high school student or not, Area 11 clothing trends wouldn't help much in Azeroth. Motioning for Shirley to follow, Carolina will lead the way.
no subject
"I've seen that look before," he said sympathetically.
no subject
-and almost immediately noticing the armor and the glow of his eyes. It's enough to completely throw her off, her response getting discarded in favor of a blank stare. After a few moments, she manages to shake it off, pulling herself together long enough to answer.
"A look? Do I- wait, what do you mean?"
It's not anything bad, right- wait, of course it's bad. She's stuck here, covered in blood, and staring up at the sky. She probably looks like a complete disaster, doesn't she? Some first impression she's making.
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Without waiting for an invitation, he dropped to the ground to sit a respectable distance away. It looked a lot easier than it should have been, given his armor; he might as well wear it like a second skin.
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Thinking about this isn't getting her anywhere. She finally nods at him, breaking eye contact to look back to the ground. "Mm. I guess you could say that." Something else to say, something else to say... "You look prepared, though! A lot of the people here do."
no subject
"I'm used to this sort of thing," he said with a shrug. "Tends to happen a lot on Azeroth. Usually it's slightly more voluntary, though... generally I'm used to ending up stuck places because the transport ended up demolished."
sorry for the delay, grad school kicked my butt for a week
Oh? That's one heck of a way to respond to a line like that - not like she knows how she's supposed to respond, of course. It's not every day you're standing there, face-to-face with someone who's probably from some weird alien world's military, and wondering how to ask questions without sounding horribly offensive.
"Does the, um - does the transport break down often?" He's talking about cars or something, right? Or, wait a moment, he looks like some kind of elf - maybe horse-drawn carriage or cart? She's beginning to regret not reading as much fantasy and fairytales as she did when she was a kid - it's looking like it could've come in handy.
no subject
No one would blame her for wondering just how many exploding or shattered vehicles one man could escape in a few years of warfare.
no subject
Too bad for Shirley the tree she's sitting against is occupied. A strange, grey-skinned, candy-horned girl stares down at her from the boughs. Nepeta's curious, but also concerned about the new girl. She really doesn't look like she's ready for a world like this one, despite the sword she's carrying and the blood on her clothes. Is it her own? She doesn't look injured.
"Are you hurt? I can try to see if I can find someone to help you."
no subject
That gets a good, long stare out of Shirley. Just what is this girl? She looks mostly human, at least - she's got that much to work with. But most humans don't have quite that shade of skin, or horns for that matter. Is she- an alien? Something mythical like the dragons around her?
It occurs to her, a few seconds too late, that there'll be time to speculate later - she's being rude right now. She clears her throat, sheepishly averting her gaze before trying to answer the girl's question. "Um, not really? I mean, I don't think so." She hasn't been able to find any wounds so far, at least.
The curiosity is too much to handle. She's got about ten different ideas for just what could be going on with this girl, and since they're getting increasing ridiculous, it's probably time to put them to rest. "I'm sorry, but are you - you know, from around here?"
no subject
It doesn't look all that old, but it does seem to have dried, so at least if she did have any injuries they must have healed. Reasoning that out is enough for Nepeta, and she moves on.
"No, none of us are, really, except fur the dragons. I'm guessing you've nefur seen a troll befur, huh?"
She smiles guilelessly, eyes wide and cheerful and posed in a relaxed stance for one of her best "cute catgirl" looks. She's not at all above using her inherent adorableness to help put a smile on the girl's face if she can.
"You can call me Nepeta. Nepeta Leijon. And what's your name?"
whoops uh PRETEND SHE'S NOT BLUSHING IN THE ICON...
Did you live under a bridge before you came here goes unasked. For one, this girl doesn't look anything like some sort of ugly mythical beast - once you get past the skin, the eyes and the horns, she's adorable! Also, she's pretty sure that even if Nepeta were that kind of troll, it'd be rude to ask a question like that. She wouldn't ask the dragons around here if they kidnapped princesses, after all, and - okay, so maybe that's not a great example, since the dragons are way scarier than the girl in front of her, and -
Whoops, she's being asked something. "Shirley," she manages to get out, and after a moment's pause she manages to pull herself together. "Shirley Fenette. It's nice to meet you, Nepeta."
no subject
Though not as much as some of the others, she has in fact heard a bit about human concepts of trolls, and frankly she finds the whole thing very silly. As for the dragons kidnapping princesses, she'd kind of like it if they did! She'd rather enjoy having Feferi here with her.
"Nice to meet you too, Shirley!" And with that, she decides it's time to stop calling at her from the tree branches like some bizarre version of the Cheshire Cat (not that she'd know what that means) and bounds down to land next to Shirley.
no subject
Whoa.
Okay, so she's not sure what she was expecting from the - tiny girl with the cat hat, but an alien definitely wasn't one of them. It's kind of cool, yeah, but at the same time it's more than a little terrifying-
-and speaking of terrifying, even if she's managed to acknowledge that Nepeta is a tiny ball of cuteness, she still shrieks when that ball is suddenly plummeting down next to her. Don't kill me turns into don't land on me, and that turns into don't get hurt, you're way too high up - but the girl lands on her feet, and just like that everything's fine.
"Are you, uh - do most trolls look like you?"
no subject
"Don't worry. I'm very strong, and good at jumping both up and down. I won't get hurt furrom something like this."
Seating herself down cross-legged, she ponders Shirley's question a bit, tilting her head and "hmmm"ing. "I suppurrse it depends on what you mean. We all have grey skin and horns, but the horns are diffurent fur each troll and we're all diffurent sizes and such. I'm purrty small fur my age."
standard apology in this thread too - grad school kind of destroyed me this week
A moment after the questions tumble out, something finally occurs to Shirley. "Sorry, sorry! I keep asking all these questions, but I haven't given you a chance to ask anything back... If you've got any questions about humans, don't feel weird about asking, okay?"
It's not much, but it's a start. And besides, she needs a distraction right about now.
no subject
"It's fine, I actually know about humans, I've talked to a couple befur, even befur I got here. You've nefur met a troll befur though, so of course you have lots of questions. That just makes sense."
And in answer to her question, Nepeta flexes an arm and grins. "All trolls are purrty strong, but I'm a bit more than most beclaws of how I lived back home. I'm a hunter, you see."
She waves the hand again, but this time it's to draw attention from the claws that shoot out of her gloves. "I hunted Alternian wildlife fur food. And the animals we had back there could get really nasty."
no subject
Even so, Shirley catches his eye. Partly, it's for shallow reasons. She's a good looking girl, and even more noticeable when most of your female company the past few weeks has had horns or scales or never gets out of thick armor. Shirley's a sight for sore eyes.
At least, until he notices the blood covering her clothing. He's been on enough battlefields and in medical exam rooms to know that's not the sort of blood stain you get from someone else's blood splattering on you. That's the kind that seeps out from you. Her behavior that betrays her shock and daze only confirms his suspicions. It's a conclusion that's not at all hard for him to jump to.
After all, some time ago he had been under the exact same situation.
After reaching the conclusion, he actually decides to get up from the spot he was laying about before. He approaches slowly- not hiding his presence but not being extremely loud with it either. When he's close enough, he kneels down and looks at her and actually attempts kindness.
"Lot to take in, huh?"
hell yes tales of symphonia
"Mm. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it..."
B) mwhaha we are everywhere
As well as the not being dead anymore thing, but that went without saying. Up close, he can notice there's things...off about her. At least, the glowing eyes are a tip off that she's not quite normal. Then again, there was always a good chance in this place her eyes just naturally glowed like that.
"I'm Kaneis." A lie, but it comes out easy enough as he returns a half-decent smile to her. "What's your name, dear?"
it occurs to me that i haven't finished making any other smiling icons. hope you like those two ;_;
There's more than a few things that are off about her at this distance. Her breathing's off, staggered and irregular. Her skin's a bit paler than it should be, even lighter than it normally is. And there's just a hint of an echo as she speaks, something almost dismissible as a trick of the wind.
"Shirley." He's the most relatable person to approach her so far - he's not hidden beneath layers of platemail, his eyes don't glow, and all things considered he looks fairly normal. Like someone she could run into in the mall, almost. (Okay, so maybe his clothing is a bit different, but - he's probably been here for a while, right? That's all.) So her smile widens slightly, a bit of her earlier hesitance vanishing as she responds. "Even if this isn't the greatest of times, it's nice to meet you."
It's all good!
Frankly Zelos was used to dragons. Small breeds of dragons some used for mounts in Tethe'alla. Larger breeds roamed the wilds and everyone knew that they were dangerous monsters to avoid. Still, he's seen more than enough reactions from people from more "normal" worlds that lacked magic and dragons to guess that's what she's thinking.
"Yeah, you too." He's noticing those other small things off. The erratic breathing and pale skin could be explained by any leftover blood loss, but the echo was definitely odd. "I only got here a couple weeks ago myself, I'm still trying to make heads and tails of everything."
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Everyone else she's seen here just seems so... used to it. Do they just come from places where this sort of thing is normal, or is it because they've been here longer? Will she end up getting used to things like this? Because that's a weird thought, almost more than running into them in the first place.
"A few weeks? That's what most people seem to be saying. I think they dragged me in late..." It's weird - even with this whole situation being mostly alien to her, and with the dragons and mythical beasts running around this place, just having someone normal to talk to is doing wonders to get her mind off things. "So, uh - what all have you found to do around here?"
no subject
"Yeah, maybe they decided they needed more help than they thought." It wasn't that surprising. The last war he was involved like this one, there were a lot more people to help out.
What to do around here? "...Heh. Good question. A lot of us train or work on getting supplies from the village that's outside the Sanctum. Other than I? Well..." He scratched his head. "I nap a lot?"
sorry for the delay, grad school kicked my butt last week
She's getting lost in her thoughts again - time for a distraction. She grabs the last thing Zelos said, pushing out a laugh and trying to roll with it. "I don't know how much that's going to help! I don't really sleep all that much - five or six hours does the trick, you know?"
Still, the other part helps out quite a bit. Training, getting supplies... she's just going to have to get used to that, huh?
it's okay! I know it's grad hell right now.
He can tell the laugh is fake, but he doesn't comment on it. It's an awful situation, he'd worry if someone's laugh was sincere. "Seriously? Just that much? That's no fun. Maybe you'll have to take up a hobby."
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This is not what he wanted. He isn't sure how to breach the subject except with a small, murmured apology.
"I am sorry."
sneaks in this tag; assuming she doesn't recognize krasus/hasn't seen him like this yet!
He's sorry?
"About what?" That's a stupid question, isn't it? A really stupid one. She frowns slightly, licking at her lips and trying again. "If you mean-" And even when she tries, she's not quite able to speak bluntly about what happened just yet - instead, she motions to her abdomen and the bloodied cloth surrounding it. "If you mean all this, it's okay. Someone healed me when I showed up here."
That doesn't fix everything that's happened, and she knows it, and she gets the distinct feeling he knows it. But it's a start, right?
considering the lighting was bad and she was basically dying, it's allowable LOL
"There is no delicate way to put this. You are no longer mortal, by any stretch of the word. Your old existence has been changed." Irrevocably. Forever. "I did not consider that the magic would twist you in such a way, but it did. For that... I am so, so sorry."
YEAH JUST A LITTLE BIT
So this is the person who made sure she was healed? She's sitting here because of him. She's alive because of this person. (That's not an entirely new feeling, and she's not sure how to feel about that.) She should probably thank him, she knows that much - so why does he look so sad, staring down at her?
And then he speaks, and things are made clear. Changed. Twisted. No longer mortal. It really is something out of a fairytale, huh? Just not the kind of fairytale she might have wanted.
"Are we all like that?"
Her question comes out a bit more hesitant than before. She's beginning to have a general sense of why this tall figure has chosen her in particular to speak with, but - but maybe this is just what happens to everyone that shows up here. Maybe all the people she's spoken with have had the same talk with someone, or maybe they just knew. Maybe she just showed up at a bad time, and they didn't have time to tell her any of this. She'll hold onto what hope she has for a little while longer - there's nothing wrong with that, right?
poor babby
There was a dark side to his powers of life-giving, and once more he found himself faced with it.
"... You have become a necromancer-- a death knight, to be precise." He kneels beside her, keeping his voice low. "Though you possess the potential for strength like you have never dreamed of, you are no longer of the living."
"poor babby": half the cast's default state throughout the show
How is she supposed to handle this?
"What are you saying?" Her voice trembles as she speaks, but she doesn't cut herself off this time. "I'm sitting here just like anyone else, right? You- I got healed, I didn't-" Bits and pieces of today are beginning to fall into place. No hunger, no thirst, no sweat. She feels wrong, and she'd hoped that maybe it was just carrying the massive blade this far, but her arms don't feel tired even after crossing the sanctum.
She pinches her arm, as hard as she can. It doesn't hurt.
Her gaze drops to the ground as she shuffles back against the tree, bringing her knees up and curling forward. She can't really stand to look at him anymore - he looks so sad. It reminds her of Lelou, a little bit - except Lelou is back home, all alone in a world under attack, and she's here with her bloody clothes, a sword, and her memories.
"Is this my fault?"
welcome to code geass
It's kind of disgusting, probably, but he is a red dragon and he isn't trying to mask his presence among peers.
"No, young one. The fault lies with me-- with the imperfect system we created to save all these worlds." His voice is strangely gentle. Krasus is a father and a mentor, and thousands of years doesn't change that. "If you wish to be angry at me, I will accept it. I only ask that you allow me to help you in whatever way I can."
whoops forgot a subject. how about those dragons, huh. pretty scary
"I'm not angry."
And she's not lying, either. She wants to be angry. She wants to break down and yell and cry until all this tension in her chest is out and gone. She wants to feel something other than sad and empty and cold at all of this. But if he'd never taken her here - if none of this had happened - she'd probably be dead right now. That's reason enough to forgive him, isn't it?
So she takes a few breaths, unnecessary though they may be, to steady herself. And when she looks up to him, his expression so sad and soft and unbearably warm, she knows she's making the right choice.
She shakes her head, still unable to muster up a smile, and continues. "You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't have to, right? The things you're fighting... I can't even imagine how strong they must be."
terrifying tbh
He watches her face for a moment, to make sure she's okay-- as attentive as any parent, given the opportunity. "The Burning Legion is numerous and terrible. But in any timeline, Azeroth was not meant to fall here. We will repel them, and we will take back your world. It will be all right."
not as terrifying as this last week of grad work WHOOPS
"Hey, can I..." The words have barely left her mouth when she falters. Can I still cry? What all does it mean to be dead? Am I going to start rotting? They're all stupid questions, or at least not quite as good as she'd like right now. Not when there's something way more important than that to deal with.
"Do you know if anyone else showed up from my world?" She blurts it out all in one go, just trying to make sure it gets said.
oh jeez i am so sorry 8( ITS ALMOST THE SUMMER THOUGH... SO CLOSe...
He considers, then he shakes his head slowly. "I would not know. If someone asks for you, what is your name?"